A Place to Belong

by RaeAnne Thayne

  He showered, grabbed a stale bagel from the cabinet, then headed to the station. He checked in with a couple of his deputies, then called the county jail to get an update on the men they’d arrested. There was a mountain of paperwork to process, and he was on his fourth cup of coffee when a knock sounded on the door to his office.

  “You got a minute?” Jase asked, peering in. “I brought muffins from Life is Sweet if that makes a difference.”

  “Katie’s muffins make all the difference.” Cole sat back, stretched his arms over his head and then winced at the pain in his arm. “Come on in and have a seat.”

  “I heard last night was intense.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But you took down Elton’s operation.” Jase set the brown bag from the bakery on Cole’s desk, then folded his tall body into a chair.

  Cole inclined his head. “For now. The guys running the bigger operation in Denver will have another lackey in place within months. We need to make sure we don’t let down our guard.”

  “It was still a win,” Jase insisted. “Can you ever just take credit for something and bask in the glory for a day?”

  “There’s no glory in what we did last night. But I’m grateful my men came out unscathed.”

  “What about your shoulder and face?”

  “Minor.”

  “Of course.”

  Cole reached in the bag and pulled out a blueberry muffin, his favorite. “Did you come here for an official report on last night?” He took a big bite, tossing the remainder of his bagel in the trash as he did.

  Jase gripped the arms of the chair, his shoulders stiffening. “She saw my dad.”

  “Her dad, too,” Cole said quietly, choosing not to mention he knew all about Sienna’s encounter with Declan. It would reveal too much when he wasn’t sure yet what Jase wanted from him.

  “Apparently she sat in her car in front of his duplex.”

  “No law against that.”

  Jase blew out a breath. “Dad noticed and walked out to talk to her. But she took off right after. Now he’s worked up that he scared her away and wants me to reach out.”

  “Okay.”

  “Not okay,” Jase countered. “I don’t know what to say to her. I have no idea what she wants or why she’s still in town when she hasn’t talked to either of us.”

  “Maybe she’s getting her bearings,” Cole suggested.

  “What does that mean?”

  “We both know she didn’t plan this trip. She might need some time to figure out exactly what she wants from a relationship with you and Declan.”

  “I don’t believe she wants any kind of relationship.” Jase shook his head. “I think she’s hanging around to stir the pot. I get the feeling she’s angry with both of us, although I can’t figure out why. Hell, she was the one who got out. I stayed behind and dealt with Dad’s demons while Sienna lived the good life in Chicago.”

  Cole concentrated on pulling the wrapper from the oversize muffin. He took another bite, then a long drink of coffee. He’d hoped Jase would just continue his rant, but obviously he wanted Cole’s take on the situation.

  “You chose to stay.”

  “It wasn’t much of a choice,” Jase muttered.

  “But you got to make it. Maybe the life you had was difficult, but it was yours. Your mom took Sienna. She had no choice.”

  “Are you telling me I got the better deal spending my childhood trying to keep Declan away from the bottle—unsuccessfully for years as everyone knows? I went to my mom’s house last year when I was in Chicago. Remember the movie Home Alone?”

  Cole nodded.

  “They live around the corner from the house where it was filmed. It’s a hell of a nice neighborhood. That’s where Sienna grew up. She went to great schools, played tennis and rode horses if the framed photos our mom has displayed are any indication. Am I supposed to feel sorry for her?”

  “You know a bunch of material crap doesn’t necessarily make for a happy childhood.”

  “You’re defending her.”

  “There’s nothing to defend, Jase.” Cole blew out a breath. “I’m telling you that from what I gather, the grass wasn’t always green for Sienna, despite where she was raised.”

  “I need her gone,” Jase said suddenly.

  “Why?”

  “It’s not the right time. We’re about to have a baby. Em is worried about how Davey is going to take to having a little sister or brother. He seems excited by it now, but it’s going to be a lot of work.”

  Cole knew that Emily’s son from her first marriage had Asperger’s syndrome, and helping him manage social situations and interactions with other people had been Emily’s priority for years.

  “Work is crazy busy,” Jase went on. “Did you hear a private equity group out of California bought the old ski resort?”

  “Seriously?”

  Jase nodded. “Colorado has had some great ski seasons the past few years, but the popular places are getting too crowded. There aren’t too many independently owned mountains left, but if these people get the resort and the lifts operational again, it would be a game changer for the town.”

  “That’s great, I guess,” Cole said, although he thought Crimson was just fine the way it was. “But none of what you’ve told me has anything to do with Sienna.”

  “It’s not her exactly,” Jase said with a sigh. “It’s everything—the baby, working with the resort’s new owner, plus my dad. Mainly my dad. He’s been doing great since we moved him into his new house. But the last time he fell off the wagon, it was after he got the letter from Mom. Now Sienna shows up here and he’s worked up about it.” He rubbed a hand across his jaw. “I know his issues aren’t her fault, but the timing of her coming back into his life...”

  “Why are you telling me all this?”

  “You know her.”

  “She’s been in town less than a week.”

  Jase lifted a brow. “Katie told Emily you bought her lunch the other day.”

  “People around here talk to each other entirely too much.”

  “True,” Jase agreed. “But maybe you can help with Sienna. I don’t want to set her off—”

  “You’re not at all interested in having a relationship with her?”

  “I’m not against it. But I’m not sure I trust her motivation. My mom reached out to me last year, and I saw her in Chicago. She was going through cancer treatments and her desire to reconnect with me seemed genuine. Then she let it slip that her husband was brokering some big merger at work and couldn’t have any whiff of scandal attached to his name.”

  “How are you a scandal?”

  “It was during the mayoral election, and the other company was headquartered in Denver. I’m not sure what was going into the deal or why her background mattered to anyone. But it was like she was trying to acknowledge she had a past in Colorado while still making sure it didn’t affect her current life.”

  “That’s cold.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, we had a fine visit. She genuinely feels guilty about ripping apart our family the way she did. I also think she’d do anything to protect the life she has now. Maybe it was more like she was putting her affairs in order, although now that she’s in remission I haven’t heard from her. Bottom line is it all felt too coincidental in timing, like there was an underlying agenda I wasn’t privy to.”

  Jase shrugged. “I don’t know Sienna, but it makes sense that she’d be cut from the same cloth. Will you talk to her?”

  Cole wanted to agree to help. He didn’t have family in his life, and his friends meant all the more to him because of it. But he couldn’t make his mouth form the words. Not after spending the wee hours last night with Sienna tucked against his body, even with the bedclothes separating them.

  “I can’t get involved like that.”

 
Jase stared at him for a long moment, then closed his eyes and let out a soft laugh. “She’s more like my mother than I even realized.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I heard a ton of stories growing up about my dad’s side of the family. The Crenshaws are infamous around Crimson as a bunch of hard-drinking, hard-living hooligans. It took a lot of work to make people in this town believe I wasn’t like that.”

  “You do look remarkably like your great-great grandfather.”

  Among a group of pictures that displayed life in the early days of Crimson was a sepia-colored photo in the county courthouse of a man sitting in the original town jail. A man who happened to be Jase’s forefather. Cole had been shocked when he’d first met Jase at his resemblance to “Black Jack” Crenshaw.

  “Trust me, I know.” Jase blew out a breath. “But I also heard plenty of stories about my mother—how pretty she was, how she could have had any man in town when she arrived here with her family from Alabama. People couldn’t seem to stop speculating on why she’d chosen my father. Of course, no one was surprised when their marriage fell apart. But Sienna must take after her in some ways if she already has you wrapped around her finger.”

  Cole bristled at the implied accusation. “I’m not wrapped around her finger,” he shot back, “but I get what it’s like to be alone.”

  “She’s not alone,” Jase countered.

  “She is,” Cole insisted. “And whatever her reasons are for coming here, she’s not looking to cause trouble for you.” It was funny he could assure Jase with no reservations, even though Sienna was the most troubling thing that had hit his life in years.

  “I hope not.” Jase ran a hand through his hair and stood. “At least keep an eye on her. That shouldn’t be too difficult.”

  “Give her a chance, Jase.”

  “Maybe I will,” his friend agreed as he backed toward the door. “I just hope you don’t give her too big of one.”

  Chapter 8

  Later that morning, Sienna walked into Life is Sweet, her stomach in knots. Pretending like she belonged in Crimson seemed to be almost as difficult as gathering the courage to talk to her father or brother.

  But she couldn’t spend her day holed up at the inn, especially with Paige dropping not-so-subtle hints about Cole. Sienna still wasn’t sure what she’d been thinking inviting him into the house—and into her bed. All she knew was she’d slept better in those hours she was next to him than she had in ages.

  Paige wasn’t much for subtlety, so as soon as Sienna had walked down the stairs, the innkeeper handed her a cup of coffee and a box of condoms.

  “Here at The Bumblebee,” she’d said with a smile, “we like to make sure our guests haven’t forgotten anything they might need during their stay.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Sienna had insisted.

  “Then you’re not as smart as you look. That man is gorgeous and I’ll tell you if a hot guy ended up in my bed—no matter the reason—I wouldn’t squander my opportunity.”

  Sienna wasn’t sure what kind of opportunity she wanted with the town’s sexy sheriff, but she knew she wasn’t ready to talk about it. She’d taken the condoms and the coffee and returned to her room with the excuse of having to call her office in Chicago.

  That part wasn’t a lie. Before she left for Aspen, she’d been working on a big ad campaign for a multinational telecommunication company ready to roll out its latest device. Although her extended stay in Colorado complicated things, she could do most of the work remotely.

  She’d sent out a round of emails to her team, then tweaked a presentation her assistant had sent her the night before. Her boss was being patient because he needed Sienna’s reputation and the relationships she’d cultivated with their client base, but she knew that wouldn’t last forever.

  The hotel in Aspen had delivered her luggage, and while her clothes weren’t perfect for Crimson’s casual vibe, at least they were hers. Now she had to come up with a plan for her time in Crimson and figure out how long she was planning to stay. For that, she needed more coffee and one of the muffins she’d seen in the glass display counter of the bakery.

  Katie, the bakery’s owner, was nowhere in sight as Sienna approached the counter, and a strange sense of disappointment washed over her. The woman had been friendly, even after Cole explained who she was. Sienna secretly looked forward to another conversation with someone who didn’t seem either fascinated by or skeptical of her past in Crimson.

  She ordered a coffee and muffin, then turned to find a beautiful and very pregnant woman staring at her.

  “Even if I hadn’t Googled you, I’d know who you are,” the woman told her, one hand coming to rest on her belly in an oddly protective gesture. “You and Jase must have looked like twins as kids.”

  “I don’t have photos,” Sienna answered automatically, then took her drink as the barista placed it on the counter. She didn’t need to ask the woman’s identity. This had to be Emily, her brother’s wife. Sienna’s sister-in-law. The thought of it was both strange and oddly appealing.

  At least it would have been in a perfect world. But not with how Emily was glaring at her. This was one confrontation Sienna knew she wouldn’t be able to get out of so easily.

  “Your dad does.” Emily’s eyes narrowed. “In fact, a framed photo of you has pride of place on the mantel in his new house. Maybe you would have found that out if you hadn’t run off like a big chicken when he spoke to you.”

  Sienna heard the sharp intake of breath from the woman behind the counter. She turned and took the bag with the muffin the woman handed her, offering a smile and ignoring the fact that her fingers trembled. Big chicken. Good to know Emily Crenshaw didn’t hold back.

  Sienna had spent a lifetime tiptoeing around difficult conversations. Her mother preferred the don’t ask/don’t tell school of thought for any topic thornier than which strand of pearls to wear to the country club for her weekly ladies’ luncheon.

  So the issues and questions Sienna had throughout her childhood consumed her body from the inside out. And with that one snappish comment, Emily set lighter fluid to the flame and Sienna’s entire being was engulfed. The mask she’d worn for years burned to ash, leaving her true self standing raw and new. Somehow it was a liberating sensation.

  She straightened her shoulders and inclined her head. “I was seven when my mother put me in that car and drove away. For years, I waited for a letter or phone call from my dad. Every birthday, each Christmas. I wanted him to care that I was gone. I wanted him to find me. But he never did. He never even tried.”

  “You don’t know what—”

  Sienna held up a hand. “He had Jase because Jase was the one he needed. So if you think I’m going to go all misty-eyed and sentimental over the fact that he still has a left-behind picture of me on display, think again.”

  Suddenly she understood why she couldn’t force herself to confront her father or brother. The pain might pour out, and then they’d see—everyone would see—how much it hurt her to be taken away from her life in this town.

  Even though her childhood had been far from perfect, she’d belonged, unlike the way she’d been raised in Chicago, where she was constantly reminded of how grateful she should be for the advantages her mother’s marriage to Craig Pierce had given both of them.

  But to Sienna, those advantages had felt like a straitjacket. Having Emily try to confront her was like breaking free, and the tumble of emotions was overwhelming and devastating. She no longer cared who heard their conversation.

  Sienna was done hiding her crazy.

  “How about the years in between and the memories that could have—should have—been captured? Maybe I’m more interested in the things in my life he missed.” She leaned in slightly. “But I’m sure not interested in being lectured on how I handle myself now. So back off, sister-in-law.”

 
Emily’s blue eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t back down. “I won’t let you hurt my family.”

  “Is that why you think I’m here?”

  “If you’re anything like your mother,” Emily said, arching an eyebrow, “then yes.”

  “I’m nothing like her,” Sienna said, but she couldn’t be sure that was true. Dana had tried her best to mold Sienna into her own image. Sienna had followed along because she hadn’t felt like there was another choice. How much of it had become embedded into the fiber of who she was remained to be seen away from her mother’s influence.

  Her comment seemed to surprise Emily, and she nodded slightly. “We’ll see about that. Come to dinner tonight.”

  Sienna felt her mouth drop open. “You just read me the riot act about not messing with you, and now you’re inviting me to dinner? Are you nuts?”

  “Rhetorical question,” a voice chimed in and both women turned to see Katie standing behind the cash registers. “Don’t question how Emily’s mind works. It’s a mystery to us all.”

  “Very funny,” Emily muttered, but Sienna felt an easing in the tension rolling off her brother’s wife. She expected nothing less from the sweet-tempered bakery owner. Katie Crawford could likely tame a grizzly bear by whispering lullabies into its furry ear.

  “Not as funny as most of my customers watching this little exchange with great fascination.” Katie inclined her head. “I’m pretty sure Mrs. Wasinski recorded the whole thing on her new smartphone. If we’re lucky, she’ll upload the video to Facebook and tag you both.” Saccharine-sweet sarcasm dripped from her tone.

  Emily whipped around and pointed at an elderly woman in a lavender tracksuit and thick hiking boots. “Delete it, Mrs. W., or I’m going to take Ruby for an after-dinner walk every night this month and let her poop in your rosebushes.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” the woman said, looking shocked. “My roses took first place in the county fair last year.”

  “Then you probably don’t want extra fertilizer on them.”